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When you sit down to watch a documentary about the Beach Boys, you know what you want: to be immersed in the California dreamin’ of the group’s early surfin’-hit days, in the jaunty beauty of songs like “I Get Around” and “Help Me Rhonda” and “All Summer Long,” and in the story of how Brian Wilson began to figure out a way to turn pop songs into miniature symphonies. You want to be immersed in the recording of “Pet Sounds,” in the Beach Boys’ rivalry with the Beatles, in the derailed masterpiece that was “Smile,” and in how Brian’s mental and emotional problems began to tear himself and the group apart. You want to know how the other Beach Boys, caught in the wilderness, found a way to put the group back together, though it’s almost like they became a different group. You want to see...

Music movies are having a moment — if, indeed, they ever stopped having one. Take the pop-music biopic. There are times, like right now, when it surges in popularity, yet the form has never gone out of style. And music documentaries, a staple of the indie-film world, have only proliferated during the streaming era. This means that they have to compete for visibility, but a ton of them are getting made and (mostly) getting seen. They’ve become a happy epidemic.

A few, like “Amy” or “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?,” are popular and vital enough to have carved out a place in the culture — and, in the case of both those films, to have inspired the creation of a biopic. I have it on good authority that when you’re trying to put together a music documentary, the prospect of it spawning a biopic can be a key selling point.

Dusty Hill, the longtime bassist for rock band Zz Top, has died in his sleep at home in Houston. He was 72.

His death was announced today by bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard.

“We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX,” the two wrote on the band’s Instagram page. “We, along with legions of Zz Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.'” See the post below.

Hill had suffered a hip injury that prompted his departure from the band’s recent post-lockdown concerts. The shows are thought to be the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band’s first ever with him. It had booked...

In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re in the midst of a renaissance moment in pop-music documentaries. For a while, it seemed like they’d gone away, sucked up into the whole packaging-of-CDs-with-extras thing. But the streaming era, with its endless appetite for product, has been a boon to music docs. A lot of them, like “Zz Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas” (2019) or “Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams” (2018) or last year’s exceptional “Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind,” fly mostly under the radar but find their fan base.

I, however, am always on the lookout for a music documentary that can get a whole lot of people buzzing because it’s about an artist who seems like an old friend, whose story we may already think we know, yet it re-assembles that story with enough hindsight big-picture vision that it can blow you...

Netflix is adding a robust line-up of popular programs to its slate in March.

In addition to rom-coms like Matthew Mcconaughey’s “Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past,” “He’s Just Not That Into You” and “Always a Bridesmaid,” the streamer is also adding a few classics like “Goodfellas” and “The Shawshank Redemption” starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. The latter film also serves as an analogy for actor Macaulay Culkin’s journey to freedom, according to his Esquire interview.

Original Netflix shows coming to the platform next month include “Lost Girls,” “Crip Camp” and Season 3 of “Elite.” Based on a true story, “Lost Girls” follows a mother who, in her desperate search to find her missing daughter, helps to uncover a string of unsolved murders. Amy Ryan, Gabriel Byrne and Thomasin Mckenzie make up the cast.

“Elite” follows three working-class teens who enroll in an exclusive Spanish private school. But once they arrive,...

With February 29th fast approaching – this is a Leap Year, remember – Netflix is preparing to roll out a fresh helping of new content for March 2020.

It’s a familiar combination of original series, time-honored classics and beloved franchise films, with next month set to herald the arrival of Resident Evil: Apocalypse and its undead sequel, Extinction. Sure, it’s a far cry from the quality and craft of The Lord of the Rings – speaking of which, both the Twin Towers and The Return of the King will be departing Netflix in four weeks’ time – but the saga of Alice still carved out an audience to call its own.

Also peppered throughout Netflix’s March 2020 catalog are some big-name horror titles and edge-of-your-seat thrillers, including Signs and the third season of Ozark. And then there’s the third season of Castlevania, which, it’s fair to say, has been a long time coming.

Alec Bojalad Feb 19, 2020

Here's what's new on Netflix in March 2020! We've got a complete list of what's leaving, too.

Normally the big story for each month of Netflix new releases are the exciting batch of Netflix original series and movies arriving. For Netflix's new releases for March 2020, things are a little bit different. Yes, there are some cool originals here but...look at those movies!

March 1 sees the arrival of Corpse Bride, The Shawshank Redemption, There Will Be Blood, and Goodfellas! Martin Scorsese likely can't unilaterally decide when and where his movies stream, but it is a happy coincidence that Goodfellas will now exist alongside The Irishman.

As for those Netflix originals...Ozark is the biggest returning hit in March. The story of a very corrupt family airs its third season on March 27. Also of note are Castlevania season 3 (March 5), Altered Carbon: Resleeved (March 19). But really after Goodfellas, nothing else was really necessary.

"Gimme all your lovin', all your hugs and kisses too. Gimme all your lovin'. Don't let up until we're through." This is the hard-rocking, distinctive boogie-down chorus of Zz Top's classic, "Gimme All Your Lovin'." It was my first foray into the band's awesome music. The year was 1983. MTV had every kid's eyes and ears glued to the television. The band looked and sounded completely different. They played fuzzy guitars, wore sunglasses and cowboy hats. Their front man and bass player had long, Rip Van Winkle beards. Zz Top was a mysterious band. The new documentary, Zz Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas, sheds light on the mystery. It is a must see for their fans, and anyone who appreciates blues-driven rock and roll. They had a completely different image and fifteen years of history before music video stardom.

Zz Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas tells the band's story through interviews,...

"They're unique, they're eccentric. When you'd see them on stage it was like seeing Bugs Bunny in person." Abramorama has debuted the first official trailer for another new rock doc - this one titled Zz Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas. That title says it all - a film about the band Zz Top and how they came to be. "Buoyed by candid band interviews, never-before-seen archive, animation, celebrity fan testimonials, and an intimate performance at the legendary Gruene Hall shot exclusively for this documentary, 'That Little Ol' Band' runs the gamut, from the absurd to the poignant, from squalid Texas bars to MTV heroics, all in celebration of this notoriously private, but larger than life, power trio. In the end, Zz Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas unravels the extraordinary tale of a band whose image we know, but whose story we don't." It looks like good fun.